


Comfortable

by Finely Honed (jaqen_hgar)



Series: дезинформация [4]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Domestic Avengers, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Not Iron Man 3 Compliant, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-23
Updated: 2014-06-23
Packaged: 2018-02-05 23:41:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1836433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaqen_hgar/pseuds/Finely%20Honed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first time he realizes what’s happening, Bucky isn’t sure how to take it, thinks he should be insulted, but can’t quite muster the appropriate response.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Comfortable

The first time he realizes what’s happening, Bucky isn’t sure how to take it, thinks he should be insulted, but can’t quite muster the appropriate response.

Stark’s one of those people who doesn’t shut up, or slow down, or really _listen_ to what people are saying to him half the time, except for when he hears more than what’s said, as if having direct access to all the words you’ve held in reserve, and then it’s just plain _eerie_.

Bucky hasn’t failed to notice that Tony almost exclusively talks over ( _or around_ ) most people, jumping ahead in the conversation, some strange linguistic form of acrobatics that occasionally leaves him stranded in self-created minefields when he finally realizes he’s overshot the mark, somehow missing the entire point of the conversation. It’s especially pronounced if Tony has been out of the Tower on Stark Industries business, or doing the peacock thing for the press.

Stark’s brain doesn’t work like other people’s, and it isn’t just the genius thing. Bucky’s pretty sure a lot of it has to do with Howard, and how Tony was ( _or wasn’t_ ) raised. He’s still grateful Steve warned him not to mention Howard back when they first met, because Tony’s daddy issues are as exceptional as he is.

Tony has trouble paying attention to one thing at one time, but that doesn’t mean he _isn’t_ paying attention; he has attention to spare. He could recite back everything someone had said to prove he’d heard them, even if he’d been talking over them while they were saying it, all while managing to interrupt himself—usually with asides for JARVIS—along the way, then use his conversational momentum to carry him through.

The saddest part ( _Bucky thinks it’s sad, anyhow_ ) is that, although the other person usually winds up annoyed ( _okay, infuriated is more often the case_ ), they’re honestly ultimately satisfied by the outcome. This is because the baseline for Tony’s human verbal interaction algorithm is that he’s only going to be spoken to because someone _wants_ something from him. It’s when the person speaking with him deviates from this standard operating procedure that things usually get awkward.

Bucky can understand why some people think Stark is an asshole, because if you don’t know the guy it all comes off as pretentious, or condescending, like he’s too busy and important to actually shut up and just let you talk. Once upon a time, Bucky might have felt the same, might have dug an elbow into Steve’s side, and asked, “how the hell do you put up with this grandstand?”

Bucky isn’t that guy anymore, though, and recognizes Stark’s behavior for what it is; a twisty type of evasiveness, the sort you learned after having your legs taken out from under you in a big way. It meant people stayed just the right side of exasperated, which allowed him to keep a safe little buffer space between him and the person he was talking to. Bucky doubted it made anything hurt less in the long run, but he wasn’t exactly in a position to judge anyone on their coping skills.

The whole thing boils down to this: Tony doesn’t talk over him. Ever. His mouth will occasionally contort as he’s holding back the stream of words pressing against the back of his teeth, but with Bucky he always waits, and listens, and _then_ speaks.

The strange thing was, for all his observations regarding how Tony interacted with others, it took Bucky far too long to realize he was being treated differently for some reason. He likes it best in the workshop, and most of the time it’s just him and Tony in there ( _well, aside from JARVIS and the bots, and sometimes Steve or Bruce_ ), so he figures he has a _bit_ of an excuse for not getting it sooner, but _still_. He was trained to notice things, and should have picked up on the uncharacteristic behavior right away.

What happened was they had one of those rare evenings where everyone was home, and somehow hungry at the same time, and in the same room together. He’d been enjoying watching Tony run roughshod over Clint, who’d finally turned and looked to Bucky ( _of all people! He didn’t even understand half of the references being made)_ for support.

“Barnes, talk some sense into him, he actually listens to you! I’m exclusively a Powerpuff Girls kinda guy. Fact. He has to fucking hack the internet and make the truth known!”

Tony is laughing and already back to berating Clint ( _“Hack the internet? Is that what I need to do?”_ ), but as soon as Bucky opens his mouth to speak, Stark is all ears, and this is what causes him to recognize that Clint is in fact _correct_ , has picked up on something that’s been painfully obvious for a while now.

He figures this should be insulting somehow, because it must mean Tony thinks him delicate, something that needs to be handled differently than everything else, but surprisingly he finds himself just shrugging it off in the moment instead.

“I don’t even know what a ‘bronie’ or a ‘puff girl’ is,” he pointed out, “and don’t want to know,” he added quickly when Clint’s eyes lit up in anticipation of being able to explain.

The rest of the evening he’s only half paying attention to what’s going on around him, and can’t help but appreciate how the rest of them manage to keep him feeling included in the conversation, and in choosing the stupid movie they wind up watching after dinner, all without pushing him, or crowding him, or doing anything other than accepting him on his own terms of engagement. 

Sitting on the couch sandwiched between Steve and Tony feels suspiciously comfortable, and oddly familiar, especially when Steve hooks an arm around his shoulders and gives him a little squeeze for no particular reason, like he’s just happy to have Bucky ( _not his old pal, but the current incarnation of the man_ ) there beside him.

Back when he’d first arrived, the gesture would have felt somehow weighty with expectation, like Steve was reaching out only in an attempt to drag some remembered version of Bucky out of the Winter Soldier body he was trapped in. They’d moved past that, though, and he’s okay with the affection, rolls his eyes at Steve, a crooked smile working across his face as he _relaxes_. 

It’s somehow even better when Steve reaches around Bucky and musses up Tony’s hair. Amidst the squawks of protest and Clint’s giggling, Steve had to get up and wash his hands ( _“That’s what you get when you mess with perfection!”_ ) because it turns out there was a ridiculous amount of motor oil in Tony’s hair for some reason.

Bucky allows himself the luxury of softening his focus on everything around him, knowing he’s with people he trusts ( _even Clint_ ), and is able to start running over conversations, and moments, and interactions he’s had with Stark since meeting him, all with this new datapoint in mind, reassessing, trying to get to the bottom of it.

It’s difficult to come to any sort of conclusion, especially with the distraction of Tony’s leg brushing against his own over, and over again as he shakes it, unable to sit still on the couch. He’s somehow managing to watch the movie ( _or criticize what passes for science in the movie, getting Bruce to join in whenever possible_ ), while fussing with schematics on one StarkPad, while on yet another he’s catching up on his email and exchanging messages ( _insults_ ) with someone named Reed.

Bucky drops a hand to Tony’s knee and leaves it there for a moment even after the bouncing stops, thinking that the metal contrasts nicely against the well worn denim of Tony’s jeans. Realizing that he’s lingering, he makes a fist, and gives Tony’s leg a little affectionate bop before folding his arms across his chest. Bucky does not fail to notice that Stark’s attention is fully focused on him for just shy of two minutes before he finally opts to pick up where he left off. His leg remains still for the rest of the evening.

That night, Bucky imagines he can feel the lingering sensation of Tony’s leg pressed warmly against his own as he stares at his ceiling, puzzling over what he’d learned, eventually falling asleep without any answers.

Two days later, about twenty minutes into his visit, Tony manages to forget that Bucky is in the workshop with him.

Tony still isn't silent—there’s an almost hypnotic and constant exchange of information that happens between him and JARVIS as he works—but his body language and movement changed significantly. He almost dances around the place, keeping time with whatever happens to be blasting through the speakers, and the way he issues orders and asks JARVIS for feedback is different, almost strangely detached.

He’d ditched his t-shirt, using it to wipe something off of his hands before tossing it across the room and almost hitting Bucky in the face with the thing. Tony’s hair was sticking up all crazy, the arc reactor glowing brightly through the hole cut in the tank top he’d been wearing under the shirt, and he still had smudges of grease everywhere.

The latest Iron Man prototype still looked more like a mess than a suit to Bucky, strung up so Tony can have easy access. He’s standing on the tips of his toes, half inside the thing, the tank riding up so that Bucky can see his navel, and the dark trail of hair leading down into his jeans, which are too big for him, and riding low on his hips.

Reaffirming the fact that Tony Stark is an attractive man is suddenly distracting in a way that hasn’t been a problem up until now, but leaves him unable to look away, and feeling guilty about it. Ridiculous lovesick lyrics of some heavy metal ballad (‘ _without you, I’d be lost’ seems to be the jist of it_ ) are blaring through the sound system, and suddenly leaving seems like a Very Good Idea indeed.

When Bucky announces, “I’m gonna raid the kitchen, want me to bring anything back?” Tony almost gives himself a concussion, cracking the back of his head against the inside of the suit.

Watching him extract himself is adorable, and Bucky bites down on the inside of his cheek to stop that thought in its tracks. It’s difficult, though, because when they’re finally facing each other Tony looks like a kid caught in the act of something unspeakable, all wide eyed and vulnerable.

“When did you get here? Did JARVIS let you in?” The words have no heat behind them, though, are just something for Tony to say while he regroups.

“I got here about two hours ago, Antoshka,” he answers patiently, beating JARVIS to the punch, “and _you_ let me in.”

Tony manages to look equal parts embarrassed and apologetic, a strange smile sliding on and off his face ( _he loves the look Tony gets whenever he uses that nickname_ ), and Bucky suddenly gets it, even though he’s pretty sure Stark doesn’t realize yet there is anything _to_ get.

Anthony Edward Stark _likes_ him. Not talking over him was a sign of intimacy and affection. Tony’s comfortable with Bucky being around, to the extent that he allowed himself to forget he wasn’t alone in the workshop. Being who he is, Bucky understands how hard that can be for someone with trust issues, and is surprised by the way his pulse quickens at the realization.

They’re just standing there, staring at each other now, and Bucky decides to test the waters. He reaches around, grabs the rag Tony had shoved into his back pocket earlier and promptly forgotten about, and uses it to wipe grease off of Tony’s face.

Tony _blushes,_ and remains _silent_. Go figure.

“How about it?” Tony is just blinking at him, mouth open as if afraid to answer, so Bucky adds, “Food? Coffee?”

“Coffee, as much as you can carry,” Tony answers in a rush, finding his footing again, snatching the rag out of Bucky’s hand in order to stuff it back into his pocket. “Also, be on the lookout for multitasking food,” and begins rattling off what classifies something as appropriate multitasking food.

There is a sense of relief, of purpose, that has settled into Bucky’s chest as he listens to Stark rambling, something he hasn’t felt in ages. He has a mission again, one of his own choosing, which makes it a special sort of terrifying, considering he doesn’t _quite_ remember how to flirt.

He looks at Tony again and thinks he’ll figure it out along the way.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for all the lovely support for the series so far! Glad there are others enjoying some Tony/Bucky feels. :)


End file.
